Contender (stock character)
Encyclopedia
A contender is a stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...

 found in stories and films depicting the development and triumph of an individual through athletic achievement. The typical storyline of the contender is one of an (often young) individual with raw natural talent, who is hindered by a shortage of either knowledge of the sport, discipline or indeed something as simple as confidence. Through the encouragement of a coach or other guiding figure, for instance a wise old man
Wise old man
The wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...

 or a magical negro
Magical negro
The Magical Negro, or magical African-American friend, is a supporting stock character in American cinema, who, by use of special insight or powers, helps the white protagonist....

, the contender overcomes previously insurmountable limitations and achieves his or her potential or even beyond, usually by some sort of victory, for instance in an athletic competition. Alternatively, they may lose in the competition but nevertheless gain in some other, perhaps greater way, such as through genuine respect from their opponents for their endeavours. After all, what matters is "not the winning, but the taking part".

Examples of individual contenders include:
  • Rocky Balboa
    Rocky Balboa (character)
    Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Sr. is a fictional character and the main protagonist portrayed by Sylvester Stallone who has appeared in the Rocky series from 1976 to 2006. During the series, he wins the Heavyweight Championship of the World twice....

    , the title character in the Rocky
    Rocky (film series)
    Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky , Rocky II , Rocky III , Rocky IV , Rocky V and Rocky Balboa...

    series
  • Daniel LaRusso, the title character in The Karate Kid
  • Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn in Major League
  • Rannulph Junuh (the golfer aided by the title character in The Legend of Bagger Vance
    The Legend of Bagger Vance
    The Legend of Bagger Vance is a 2000 American film directed by Robert Redford and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. It is based on the 1995 book of the same title by Steven Pressfield and takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1931...

    )
  • Daniel E. "Rudy" Ruettiger
    Daniel Ruettiger
    Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger is a motivational speaker and former collegiate football player for the University of Notre Dame, who is best known as the inspiration for the motion picture Rudy....

     (the title character in Rudy
    Rudy (film)
    Rudy is a 1993 American sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles...

    )
  • Sanju in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
    Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
    The music for the movie composed by Jatin Lalit and lyrics were penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The soundtrack, their second collaboration together, helped to launch their career...

  • Akari Kanzaki in Battle Athletes Victory
    Battle Athletes Victory
    is a Japanese series produced by the AIC studio and released as an original video animation , and later aired as an anime television series on TV Tokyo in 1997.- Battle Athletes :...

  • Makunouchi Ippo, the title character of Hajime no Ippo
  • Sena Kobayakawa
    Sena Kobayakawa
    is the main protagonist in the manga and anime series Eyeshield 21. He is a dynamic character who, at the start of the series, willingly becomes a gopher for other people to avoid being bullied more...

     in Eyeshield 21
    Eyeshield 21
    is a manga about American football written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. It has been adapted into an anime movie in 2004 , an anime television series in 2005, several video games and a trading card game from Konami. The manga is serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...

  • Shinozaki Mikoto in Over Drive
    Over Drive (manga)
    is a manga series by Yasuda Tsuyoshi that has appeared in the Japanese Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2005 until 2008. An anime adaptation began airing on 3 April 2007 and is produced by studio XEBEC...



Sometimes a book or film portrays a team sport in which several or all members of the team are contenders, and their success (or otherwise) is based, at least in part, on whether or not those team members provide sufficient guidance and support for one another. Examples of team contenders include:
  • The Bad News Bears (an example of the team that loses "the game", but comes out of the experience with a collective greater self esteem)
  • The Mighty Ducks
  • Little Giants
    Little Giants
    Little Giants is a 1994 family comedy film, starring Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as brothers in a small Ohio town, coaching rival Pee-Wee Football teams.-Synopsis:...

  • The Big Green
    The Big Green
    The Big Green is a 1995 Walt Disney Pictures film starring Steve Guttenberg and Olivia D'Abo, written and directed by Holly Goldberg Sloan...

  • The Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos in Necessary Roughness
    Necessary Roughness (film)
    Necessary Roughness is a 1991 comedy film starring Scott Bakula and Sinbad. The film was directed by Stan Dragoti, who has also directed the movies Mr. Mom, She's Out of Control, and The Man With One Red Shoe. In addition to Bakula and Sinbad, Necessary Roughness has an additional cast of Héctor...

  • The unnamed local hockey team in Mystery, Alaska
    Mystery, Alaska
    Mystery, Alaska is a 1999 drama directed by Jay Roach about a fictional small-town ice hockey team that plays a game against the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. It was shot in Banff National Park and Canmore, Alberta.-Plot:...

  • Tsubasa Ozora
    Tsubasa Ozora
    is the main character of the cartoon and anime series Captain Tsubasa, authored by Yoichi Takahashi. The name literally translates to "Big Sky Wings". A prodigious soccer player, Tsubasa dreams of one day winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan...

    's team in Captain Tsubasa
    Captain Tsubasa
    , also known as Flash Kicker, is a popular long running Japanese manga, animation, and video game series, originally created by Yōichi Takahashi in 1981...

  • Shohoku High School in Slam Dunk
    Slam Dunk (manga)
    is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and had also been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which had been broadcast worldwide,...

  • Shaolin
    Shaolin kung fu
    Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery.Of the multitude styles of kung fu and wushu, only some are actually related to Shaolin...

     monks in Shaolin Soccer
    Shaolin Soccer
    Shaolin Soccer is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Stephen Chow. A former Shaolin monk reunites his five brothers, years after their master's death, to apply their superhuman martial arts skills to play soccer and bring Shaolin kung fu to the masses.In 2008 a...

  • Indian villagers in Lagaan
    Lagaan
    Lagaan is a 2001 Bollywood sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, who was also the producer for the film, stars with Gracy Singh in the lead roles; British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne play the supporting roles...

  • India women's national field hockey team
    India women's national field hockey team
    The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...

     in Chak De India
    Chak De India
    Chak De! India is a 2007 Indian sports films about field hockey in India. It is directed by Shimit Amin, produced by Yash Raj Films, written by Jaideep Sahni, sports action by ReelSports, and stars Shahrukh Khan as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team. After a disastrous loss...

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